Business Directories

Abu Dhabi Festival to feature top global talent

Abu Dhabi, January 17, 2012

The upcoming Abu Dhabi Festival is attracting high caliber regional and international artists from 18 countries in a schedule combining classical music, theatre and performing arts, jazz, ballet and fine arts.

Organised by Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (Admaf), the ninth edition of Abu Dhabi Festival will run from March 11 to April 6 at schools and colleges in the UAE capital.

Hoda I Al Khamis Kanoo, founder and artistic director of the Abu Dhabi Festival, said: “The Abu Dhabi Festival 2012, under the theme of ‘Connecting Cultures’, marks the ninth edition. The Festival this year consolidates its determination to realise the vision of the UAE; that being bilateral relations and cultural understanding that embraces the world.”

The Country of Honour this year will be the UK, a country with whom the festival has established a number of notable strategic partnerships, including the Royal Opera House, Manchester International Festival and Edinburgh International Festival.

Three outstanding collaborations and seven events making their Arab world debut will represent the country during the festival.

“What makes this edition of the Abu Dhabi Festival particularly special is that it will not only enable us to look forward to a future filled with unlimited creative possibilities, but it will also help us look back and learn from the lessons of the past,” said Kanoo.

“This March, we shall pay homage to the glory days of Arab cultural expression that stretched from Andalucía to China. The Golden Age left a legacy of scientific and artistic achievement, exceeding that of any other civilization.”

Building on the partnership between Abu Dhabi Festival and Manchester International Festival (MIF), the education programme will feature MIF’s Music Boxes. Events will include the Scottish Opera’s BabyO which offers babies an unforgettable musical experience by seamlessly combining recorded music with live singing. Jake Rodrigues’s event will encourage song and dance in the innovative ’Ukulele World’.

The BBC Philharmonic Maestro will offer a unique interactive musical experience for children while the sensory show, Oily Cart - ‘Drum’, is specifically designed for babies and toddlers.

Topical issues in culture and the arts will be discussed through ‘Riwaq Al Fikr/The Festival Debates’. A total of five panel discussions will bring together a series of leading experts to explore diverse subjects including cultural diplomacy, arts education and the legacy of Arab heritage.

Through the programme of workshops, artist-led walk-throughs and lectures visitors will be able to explore Iraqi artist and calligrapher Hassan Massoudy’s unique talent and discuss the themes and inspiration behind his work.

Kanoo said: “Their creations, concerts and compositions reflect the Festival’s never-ending thirst for knowledge, so eloquently reflected in the region’s poetry and literature.”

Tickets for the Festival go on sale to the public today (January 17). – TradeArabia News Service